The Road Through Russia

January 26, 1986|By Lee M. Sanders, Special to the News/Sun-Sentinel

Sir Winston Churchill once called the Soviet Union ``a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.`` Recent summit negotiations affirm an American quest to come to terms with this enigma. President Reagan has pointed to ``cultural exchanges`` as a means of accomplishing this end. Aside from summits and cultural exchanges, however, American tourists can try to solve the Soviet riddle themselves . . . by driving through it!

This past summer our family from Plantation -- my parents, my 15-year-old sister and I -- did just that.

Driving through this police state is not an enjoyable experience for every traveler. If you cannot cope with the prospect that you may be detained for a short while by Soviet police for no apparent reason, do not try this form of independent travel.

But if you consider education and adventure the game plan of your travels, driving through the Soviet Union might be the most complete way to accomplish your goals.

As tour buses hustle visitors through churches, cathedrals, museums and monuments, they leave little time to introduce the tourist to the most intriguing feature of the country: the people and their way of life. Independent travelers in Russia have the opportunity to discover for themselves a society vastly different from their own.

We rented an automobile in Paris and proceeded on a 10-week tour of Europe, incorporating a 1,500-mile trek through Russia. Entering the country at the Romanian-Soviet border, we commenced a three-week tour of six Russian cities from the Black Sea to the Baltic and exited into Scandinavia at the Finnish border near Vyborg, Soviet Union.

The Soviet portion of the trip included several days in each of the most popular tourist cities: Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev and Odessa. We also stayed in two cities, Orel and Novgorod, that are required overnight stops on the Kiev- Moscow and Moscow-Leningrad motor routes, respectively. By government restriction, tourists may not travel more than 500 kilometers (300 miles) in a day.

Inside the country, our Western vehicle made us celebrities, and we soon realized that we had become tourist attractions for the Soviets. At the intermission of the Odessa circus, for example, our sleek, French-made Citroen became a popular sideshow, with more than 20 locals crowded around it.

GETTING READY

Although my family designed the specific route, we made arrangements for the necessary accommodations and visas through Lake Worth`s Cosmos Travel Agency, the only official appointed agency of its kind in the Southeast. Travel plans, with hotel reservations, must be booked and approved by the Soviet Travel Agency, Intourist; Cosmos has direct communication with Intourist. To process the visas, the Russian Embassy requires an official copy of the Intourist itinerary.

Of course, independent motorists require a bit more preparation than tour bus passengers. Most of the bureaucratic necessities such as visas, international driver`s licenses, registration certificate and routings are covered by pamphlets issued by Intourist. Other helpful materials to bring along include bottled water, toilet paper, tissues, a Russian phrase book, chewing gum, a pocket knife and insect repellent.

As many hotels have ``currency bars`` that offer Western drinks and snacks for Western currency only, small denominations of these bills come in handy. Taking along 20 $1 bills can help avoid unneccesary inconveniences.

In addition to travel agents and maps, one of the best sources for planning motor routes is a book from Moscow`s Progress Publishers titled Motorist`s Guide to the Soviet Union. Its author, Leonid Zadvorny, outlines all possible routings and describes the major points of interest in various cities. Remember, however, that you may visit only cities marked on your visa even if the visit is intended only as a lunch stop.

One last preparation that would certainly enhance an experience in the Soviet Union is an arrangement for a home meeting with Soviet refuseniks, Jews who wish to leave the country but have been refused exit by the government. This may be arranged only in a private manner, usually in conjunction with a regional U.S. refusenik organization.

LODGING

Because of government restrictions, all lodging plans must be made in advance. Such reservations are made according to the level of lodging requested, not the particular hotel. Intourist offers three classes of hotel rooms, according to size. Although Americans are generally given the best accommodations, there is no advance guarantee of quality. In Moscow and Leningrad, hotels meet normal standards of the average American tourist, but in most other cities lodgings tend to be substandard.